TerryB

Unfortunate for the company for this to have to happen. It is still charges and not proven out in court. Elon did not do himself any favors by the methods he used when the news of privatization was made public. Be realistic, It remains to be seen if any laws were broken. Good time to buy stock at the lower price?

Sounds like a one off Yenko type Plymouth. Some speed crazy dealer could have made up a hemi 1957 Plymouth just for fun. A lot less corporate intervention I’m sure in those days.

Yes, delivery is an issue, when you make more cars than ever you got to get them in the hands of the buyers in a timely fashion. Same is true at the point of delivery to the customer where backups are happening too. Wouldn’t the local Chevy dealer love to have those problems!

Let’s keep this site family friendly, ok? ?

A million plus Buick owners just praised your comment that their car looks like a Tesla! Been a while since Buick styling could be mistaken for something else. I was at our local mega grocery store and of course my wife parks our wheelchair van in the handicapped parking spot. Next to us in another handicap spot was a late model Buick LaCrosse with some type of add on vinyl roof and gold trim. I thought that style was long gone! We often comment on the type of cars we see in handicap spots. Everything from 80s sedans covered in bumper stickers to a Jaguar convertibles and Porsche SUVs.

Do you know when the last time the engine was rebuilt? That can help in giving you an answer. Most old cars used heavier oil as the manufacturing tolerances were a lot bigger than they are in newer designs.

Looks like 2 steering wheels and a gas tank to me. Next question ??

You owe us more photos!

NASA didn’t listen to engineers when they were told about the effects of cold air on solid rocket booster o-rings and paid the price with the Challenger disaster. Rushing things can have its consequences as we see in all forms in the technology world. Engineers say “not yet” and management says NOW! Unfortunately it comes down to that at times.

After the collision in bright sunlight you are referencing, Tesla decided to do more /most of the technology in house to avoid the missed combination of events that led up to that crash. They are not depending on others to do it all for them. The self driving car non Tesla crash that claimed the life in AZ? I believe shows the technology is not there 100%. I will not be at Hershey, sure wish I was as I’m only 20 miles away from it. Six years ago a non attentive driver decided to turn into my lane of travel while I was having a wonderful morning ride on my motorcycle. I was the victim of that old l didn’t see the motorcycle syndrome by drivers in too much of a hurry to get somewhere. With a spinal cord injury that has me paralyzed over 50% of my body and loss of my entire right leg from the accident I applaud the advent of technology that would have sensed my presence and alerted the driver to me. It’s not perfect yet as you mention and people are too quick to think they do not have to pay attention when it’s activated and accidents still happpen. I like to believe there will be a time when the technology, even before self driving is fully implemented will protect others from the type of accident I was in. Please fart to your hearts content. Shoot it towards the East on Rt.322 if you would like me to be it’s target?.

No, breaking the law is wrong and has its consequences. The reference to VW, who is also advertising an electric car is to highlight the misconception that EV from another source would be better since those companies are more established, inferring they would never do anything improper. You are certainly welcome to your impressions of the world as I am of mine. What I will restate is the arguments presented so far are not related to the product merits but rather individual opinions of the head of the company. Is there something wrong with wanting a US technology company to succeed? I am not blind to arguments about management style and I freely admit I place less emphasis on management dislikes than you do. I lost my engineering job in a well known US company when it was sold to an investment group from India. As a result of that loss I support US technology upstarts that are trying to innovate here. Let’s hope the management of Tesla gets its act together and continues to be a source of automotive innovation.

I was thinking 1936 Plymouth.

At this point we are up to ten pages of discussion on this topic. From these pages I’ve gained some very crucial insite into the beliefs of many people I have never had the pleasure to meet in person. From them I’ve made the following conclusions based on our discussions: Matthew Hinson is to be thanked for allowing the thread and discussion to continue as he had considering removing it. The discussion rarely focused on the product itself, the Tesla brand of automobiles. No one complained the cars were junk, did not provide the level of quality expected and so forth. If anything, those who did comment seemed impressed with them. As a car site it seems the merits of Tesla would have been more based on automotive performance and quality than anything else. The heart of the discussion revolves around a profound dislike for Elon Musk and his business model. Those who dislike him hope to live to see the company fail regardless of its impact on the US auto market innovation status and effect on US employment. Recently we were told it would be better if this type of automobile would be better produced by a foreign company whom we can trust to be run the way we think it should be run. We can ignore the fact that a large German company lied about emissions performance, after all they are more honest than the US competitor, correct? What is pushed to the background is the simple fact that the success of this US based company has forced global automakers to become players in a market that was once considered to be a novelty item with no chance of ever becoming a mainstream product. The success of the Tesla electric auto has moved others to the market and will offer more choices to the buying public, a good outcome indeed. If this carries over to other products like cleaner and quieter semi trucks that’s even better. I hope for the sake of Tesla’s employees and suppliers they can work out their issues and continue to innovate in the industry. A lot of safety items from the almost self driving cars promoted by Tesla have been carried over to cars we buy today, especially by Japanese brands who are quicker to adapt than our domestic brands. So yes, thank you for your thoughts. I know I am a cheerleader sometimes for the brand and it’s technology. That is what I enjoy as a “car guy”. Don’t loose sight of how Henry Ford was not always the perfect man with less than ideal ways to run a company. History does repeat itself.

Tesla and Panasonic jointly manufacture batteries at the factory in Nevada. Over 3000 people are employed at it.

And, where are the MB supercharged stations located? Is MB investing in places to charge their cars? That’s where new to market EV makers have a lot of work to do.

While all the other brands talk about bringing cars to market the only brand shipping thousands of cars to customers right now is Tesla. A hard fact to overlook. As for the technicians, there are no oil changes to do, no engine teardowns, no check engine lights to deal with just simple repairs or software updates to install. A whole different world compared to gasoline autos. Tesla owners are like Apple products users, there might be other choices out there but they stay with the company they like.

Being a bored nerd I watch C-span often. A recent broadcast was the congressional debate on going to E90 fuel as the only fuel to be produced in the future. Reason? The fuel would allow for higher compression engines that would allow for better fuel economy at lowest development cost to auto manufacturers. Also rallying for it was the corn farmers who see a windfall profit for thei products. Several testimonies were presented on the negative effect of having just one fuel choice that is not compatible with most all vehicles on the road. Also cited was the failure of E85 flex fuel to catch on with consumers even though there are vehicles currently on the road that are equipped to use the fuel. We can only hope the anti E90 group is winning.

Send a personal message to Countrytraveler on this site. He has a business selling old Mopar parts and might be able to help you out.

Tesla started delivery, slowly, of Model 3 in July of 2017. When they took deposits for the car at a refundable $1000 each down payment they had over 400,000 people place deposits. I can’t think of any modern car that even comes close to that number. Of the 400,000 it’s inevitable that people who placed a deposit will over time change their mind. There is no provision to factor into that number the people who have now joined the ranks to be put on the list. Even at $49,000 this is still a more entry level than a model S and in line with many EV prices from the competition. The link you provided does indicate the $35,000 model is coming as the battery prices drop due to improvements in their manufacturing process. As countrytraveler indicates, cars are indeed being shipped to delivery points. Elon Musk personally was at one of those delivery places to prep the cars and welcome the new owners. With all his recent antics in the news that can be eithergood or bad for business. Regardless of all the naysayers, cars are out there and they are being purchased.

Matt, I did not agree with your statement that we collectively are funding autos for the rich and well heeled only. Electric automobiles are now available to the more average incomes through sales of Tesla mode 3, Chevrolet Bolt, Nissan Leaf and others coming to market. The tax incentives were intended to bolster the sales of cleaner vehicles and jump start an industry in the US that can furnish jobs and technology advances. The Tesla business plan was to sell upscale cars as a foundation to eventually sell electric cars to the masses which is happening with Model 3 production and by improvements to competitor brands like the redesigned Leaf. Our new national tax code has used incentives to stimulate the economy relying on wealthy people to hopefully spend money to attain its goals. I don’t believe that is an ideal plan either but it’s what was accepted as the plan to use. Sounds a lot like the tax incentives for electric vehicle development. Like you, I prefer those who are capable of paying do so, but we don’t always find government follows our wishes. I do like to read the opinions of others here, both for and against. My goal in the discussion is to try and keep the facts straight during the ongoing debates.

Try Roberts Motor Parts, they are Dodge truck suppliers.

That employs thousands of US people in an industry that can be foreign dominated by China. I like the product and the industry as must be clear by now. Not just Tesla but the entire concept of a vehicle that pollutes less and less noise. I would really like the concept of the electric semi truck to get going. The lack of noise alone in a city setting would be a joy. My other passion is motorcycles and electric versions of them are gaining ng ground too. The loud pipes saves lives gang will have to change to high powered music noise if the electric cycle implementation gains more support.

By “them” I assume you mean anyone driving an electric car? There are others out there, Nissan Leaf and Chevy Bolt are the other two popular cars that are totally electric. My tax dollars subsidize lots of things I don’t own or use.

That incentive applies to buyers of any electric car brand, not just Tesla. Tesla does not receive the money. There is a production limit tied to the tax rebate and when that number is achieved the rebate no longer applies to that manufacturers car. With Model 3 production demand Tesla is quickly nearing that number. Others like Nissan have a long way to go to reach that point. If Audi, MB, or anybody else shows up with a totally electric vehicle the incentive will apply to them as well.

They are called falcon wing doors, the bird look is intentional.